Being Dead is a band that indulges its members’ goofiest tendencies. For starters, the two core members’ (stage) names are Falcon Bitch and Shmoofy (né Gumball), and their excellent sophomore album, EELS, opens with a love song about Godzilla. The Austin band doesn’t shy away from tongue-in-cheek humor, but their delivery and execution remain fully earnest. Their dueling vocal harmonies convey similarly extreme levels of yearning as heard on 100 gecs’ breakup song about a tooth extraction.
EELS blazes forward with a gleeful, playful sense of levity. Assisted by legendary indie producer John Congleton, Being Dead adorn their brief yet hard-hitting chamber-punk tunes with gritty guitars, deft drumming, and two-part vocals that play to the duality that lies at the heart of the band itself: silliness and sincerity.
Following the record’s release in September, the group sat down with Uproxx to talk about The Velvet Underground, Cindy Lee, crashing at a sheep farm in Amsterdam, and more in our latest Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
